As a dad, reading reports like that just makes me want to cry. I can't even imagine.

c3shooter

01-23-2010 03:25 AM

Never leave your children alone with guns. Getting the peanut butter and jelly off the guns is really difficult.

OK- seriously- I grew up in a home with a rifle hanging on the wall of my bedroom. A Marlin 336. And over at granddad's place, there was a Parker 12 g SXS behind the kitchen door. We were RAISED with guns, and knew you did not fool with a gun, an axe, or the bull in the bottom pasture.

Babies- 5 and under- you watch. Around guns, axes, and the bull in the bottom pasture.

My two youngest grandsons are 14 and 3. The 14 yr old knows not to. the 3 yr old is a 3 year old. You don't leave a 3 year old with a gun, a bottle of drain cleaner, or a plugged in Skilsaw.

OK- I am an old phart, set in my ways, its been raining for two days, the knee is killing me, and I'm grumpy. :p

995

01-23-2010 03:33 AM

I,m also a dad I never leave any of my gun,s unlocked except the one I use for HD and that one get,s locked up when i leave the house.PS that,s a sad story.

TXnorton

01-23-2010 10:31 AM

C3:

I grew up around guns also. I clearly remember going over to my best pal's house and we woud pull his parent's rifles out of the (unlocked) gun (display) case. This was in 1960-61 or so, and we were about 6 or 7 years old. We would play Cowboys and Indians or WW2 with them (inside - we would not dare take them outside!). I am sure there was ammo for them somewhere, but it never occured to us to look for any.

However, I bought my first gun safe about the time my son started to toddle.

Somehow, I just do not think that children these days have the same sense of reality that we had back in the day.

I hope your knee feels better.

c3shooter

01-23-2010 11:17 AM

TX- thanx (knee is resultant of one jump too many- it is there to remind me of the stupid things young men do)

I agree with you- I don't leave loaded firearms around unsupervised kids- no more than I would leave a bottle of drugs where a munchkin could gobble them. But I sometimes wonder if the disappearance of firearms from the public view has increased the mystique to kids? Remember when you would stroll past the gun department in Sears, K Mart, Montgomery Wards, Western Auto, the surplus store- or the local General Store? I love flipping thru the really old Sears catalogs- in 1902, you could order their 69 cent revolver by mail!

At the age of 10, my friends and I had 22's- we would go shooting or hunting- and did not shoot each other. But you DID learn rule 1, rule 2, etc from a Dad or Uncle at an early age. Today, they are sitting on the couch, playing a video game. With guns in it. Hey- I'm outa here- have a breakfast date at Mickey Ds with a young lady- and then I promised I'd take her to the range. She got some .22 Lapua Match for Christmas she has been wanting to try.

spittinfire

01-23-2010 11:18 AM

C3, TX, I'm on the same page as you two. I didn't play cowboy with any guns but I grew up knowing where they were and that I simply did not mess with them. I was also taught proper firearms safety when I was handling them. It's a sad story and I hate to think that a mother and father has just lost their child but this seems to be another one of the cases where a small amount of actual parenting would have gone a long way.

diggsbakes

01-23-2010 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c3shooter
(Post 217224)

But I sometimes wonder if the disappearance of firearms from the public view has increased the mystique to kids? Remember when you would stroll past the gun department in Sears, K Mart, Montgomery Wards, Western Auto, the surplus store- or the local General Store?

I think you might have something there.

By the age of 10 my brother and our friends were allowed to take rifles and revolvers into the desert to go shooting unsupervised. But before every outing we were given a reminder of proper safety for handling guns. (by at least one set of parents, a lot of times two) All of us were introduced to guns by the age of five (or sooner) and every lesson began and ended with safety and identification of hazards associated with shooting. No one was ever injured.

Now, not only do you not see guns in you local hardware stores as often, but the places that you can shoot have become more limited. The same desert we shot freely and safely in for 15 years now heavily is patrolled by the forest service and all shooting is prohibited except in a few inconvenient, crowded, less appealing to eye areas. They enforce these new rules with a whopping $500 fine. This was how seven of us learned of these new rules. (yep they made at least $3,500 that day)

So not only are guns more mysterious to the youth due to their absence in stores and homes, but kids aren't getting the same amount/type of experience that we had. It's not all that real to go way out to the range and shoot at a piece of paper from a bench to learn about guns. Also, it's not convenient or fun for most adults to so either. Don't get me wrong I'll teach my kids any way I have to, but it's just a shame that the level of freedom is no longer there. :(

Duddn

01-23-2010 10:04 PM

It really is sad, when parents decide to own firearms and not teach their children about them. Im still a young gun ,(18), but the first thing I remember about learning to shoot and handle guns is - Treat any firearm at anytime as if it is loaded, always keep muzzle pointed in a safe direction, always be certain of your target and what may be behind it.

skullcrusher

01-23-2010 10:14 PM

My son has been raised around guns. When he was born, my f-i-l suggested that I take them out of the house and let him store them at his house. My response was, "you wanna tell me how a new born can even get at them?"

9 years later, he knows not to go near them. I can see two from where I sit now so he can see them as well. People need to take the mystery away from them and teach, teach, teach. If I were to come home and always make it a mystery of I am doing with my hunting firearm or pistol, then he would be curious. No exposure with no lessons and mystery make for a bad time for curious George or his friend.

Forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest.

Does that mean that I leave loaded firearms out for his taking? NO. Does that mean that I hide them and make them desireable. NO. Does that mean that I teach respect and safety? HELL YES.